April - Birmingham Track Club

www.BirminghamTrackClub.com
April∙2013
RUNNING SHORTS
by Al Dimicco
S
Several years ago I used to write a column
for the Vulcan Runner called Running Shorts. In it, I
would write short (very short) blips about running, diet,
training, etc. that I would come across in magazines,
newspapers, social media and such. About a month
ago, Jennifer Andress, our BTC President asked me if I
would write a monthly column for the VR. As I already
write two blogs, I thought another such writing might be
difficult, so I thought it might be fun to try to resurrect
Running Shorts. So, let’s try it for a while and see how
it goes. I offer no references, footnotes, or specific ways
to check these facts out, but to the best of my ability,
they were all presented as fact. Each month, I’ll present
about 20 random facts slanted towards running. I’m
just the messenger and hope you enjoy. If you do, or
you don’t, you know where to find me...on the roads.
Running up a hill will use approximately 36%
more energy, while running down the same hill saves
approximately 24%...in 2013, there are 689 marathons
scheduled in the US and Canada...there are 101 scheduled
in October...May 16th has 16...the median entry fee is
$75...there are 59 with an entry fee over $100 (NYC is
$275)...the average runner will burn 104.3 calories every
mile when running 10 min/mile...exercisers can improve
their performance by as much as 15% if they listen to
30
music...for every 25 pounds of excess weight, your body
needs to pump blood through an extra 5000 miles of
blood vessels...when runners shorten their stride during
a 5k run, the impact from their footfalls is lowered by
33%...sprinting for 8 seconds and jogging for 12 seconds
burns up to 5 times more fat than 40 minutes of jogging
at one speed...at regular points during the running cycle,
both feet are off the ground, while one foot is always in
contact with the ground while walking at any speed...
most runners, regardless of speed, will contact the ground
between 800-1000 times per foot per mile...a 20 ounce
bottle of Mountain Dew contains the equivalent of about
22 packets of sugar...runners can store about 2000 calories
worth of glycogen in their bodies - enough for about 18-20
miles of running...a 220 pound person running an 8 minute
mile burns about 150 calories, while a 120 pound person
burns about 82 calories...during a 200 mile run, Dean
Karnazes consumed 28,000 calories in 46 hours and 17
minutes, and still lost 5 pounds...nerve impulses travel to
and from the brain at 170MPH...the cheetah is the fastest
land animal at 70MPH...a garden snail is the slowest land
animal at .03MPH...the fastest human footspeed in a 100
meter sprint is 27.79MPH.
SEE YOU NEXT MONTH!